Enemy Mine (Mending The Veil) Read Online Free Page A

held each other grounded.
    Rissa was the first to gain her wits back as she became aware of her surroundings. Midnight was not only upon them, it had arrived while they loved waist deep in the river. They were connected now. She knew the import of letting a man take her for the first time beneath the Goddess’ Midsummer moon. According to the Litha ritual, they were tied securely by moon magic. She was his, bonded in heart, body, and soul with the Goddess as a witness and all of nature rejoicing at their communion.
    Above them an owl soared and screeched in celebration. Deep within the woods the wolves lifted their heads and bayed at the moon, welcoming him to their ranks. Night birds sang out as insects buzzed all around them, yet didn’t bite or land on them out of reverence. Rissa squeezed his shoulders once, pulled back to look into his eyes, and tried to memorize his rugged features as he blinked back at her.
    “What’s with all the noise? Where did the animals come from?” He looked around them, fear etched in his face as he held her even closer in an act of protection. Rissa smiled as she placed a tender kiss on his bare shoulder.
    “They mean us no harm. We have her blessing, Travis.” She whispered softly against his ear, feeling a shiver travel through him and into her where they were still tightly joined.
    “Her?” Aghast, he pulled her back by the shoulders to look at her with suspicion burning in his darkened eyes “What blessing?”
    “The Goddess has bestowed her blessing upon our union this night. We are in her favor.” Her heart sank as she saw the shock and then anger clear all trace of soft emotion from his tight features. His dark eyes flashed blood-red in the light of the full moon, causing alarms to go off in her head. She’d forgotten for a split moment in time that this was no ordinary man. This was a predator, a beast in man’s skin, her enemy. He was a Guardian of the Light. His sole purpose was to destroy all of her kind and leave the world without magic. Little did he know the world was magic. It could not be destroyed with the simple extermination of a race of people. A deep sadness had her biting her lip to keep from crying out with her pain. No love between them could survive if he kept his hatred of her within his breast.
    ***
    Travis stared at the woman before him with a feeling of savage hatred. She’d placed a spell on him. There was no other explanation for losing his head the way he had.
    Disgust welled up within him as he grabbed her waist and broke their connection of the flesh. Tossing her backward into the water, he watched her go beneath the surface to come up spluttering. She wiped a hand over her face to push the wet tendrils of her hair out of her eyes before she stood looking at him. There was an absence of anger in her glistening green gaze. He held his breath as he saw hurt, plain and simple, in her soft look. She blinked back tears as she turned and dove out into the water.
    Travis bit back a curse as the loud squawking of the animals around them suddenly stopped at once. The quiet was more alarming than the loud howls of the wolves had been. He placed his hands on his waist as he turned to scan the water for her. Inside, he was feeling a myriad of emotions, most he didn’t understand, so he held onto his anger and his hatred of what she’d made him do.
    Several minutes passed with not a ripple in the water. Anxiety began to burn in his chest as he carefully watched for her to surface. Anxiety turned quickly to alarm as she didn’t come up for air. Where the hell was she?
    Travis swore loudly as he dove beneath the dark water, searching for any sign of her. His eyes burned and his lungs felt about to explode, forcing him to swim to the surface for air. He gasped air and dove once more, swimming to the middle of the river. A weed bed tangled around him, forcing him to free himself from the grasping growth before he could once more kick for the surface. He came